Rep. Steve Largent (R-OK) reviewed the child support enforcement
proposal he is working on, which will be proposed next week by
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R-IL). "[Child
support enforcement] is a personal passion of mine," said
Largent. "My Mom chased my Dad over 3 or 4 states when I
was a kid, and I can tell you the child support situation is worse
today than then." Rep. Largent reviewed problems with the
current system and details about the proposal for reform. Contact
Rep. Largent's office at 202/225-2211.

* Term Limits: New Bill Calls For 12 Years, But Permits States
to Shorten the Limits Even More

Rep. Van Hilleary (R-TN) reviewed H.J.R. 76, a bill to set national
term limits of 12 years each for the House and Senate while also
protecting existing state laws setting shorter term limits. The
bill differs from other term limits proposals in that it explicitly
protects the right of states to enact shorter term limits than
Congress adopts. Hilleary distributed 6 pages of background information,
including a Dear Colleague letter, a copy of the bill, a summary
sheet with list of endorsements (including United We Stand America,
the National Taxpayers Union, Citizens Against Government Waste
and others), a list of co-sponsors and more. Rep. Tim Hutchinson
(R-AR) strongly endorsed Hilleary's "desire to protect states'
perogatives to limit terms more restrictively [than the Congress]
if they see fit." Contact Rep. Hilleary's office at 202/225-6831
or Rep. Hutchinson's office at 202/225-4301.

* Welfare Will Work Better At State Level, Says Congressman Who
Knows

Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) reviewed the House Republican welfare
reform proposal and why he, a former state legislator, believes
welfare would be more effective if administered on the state level.
Contact Rep. Hastings' office at 202-225-5816.

Rep. Tim Hutchinson (R-AR) reviewed the House GOP $500 tax cut
proposal, saying "We're paying for it; we're dealing with
deficit reduction... we need to leave this money in the hands
of Moms and Dads." The plan calls for a $500 tax credit per
child for families making $200,000 or less; allowing use of IRAs
for first-time home purchases and educational and medical expenses;
a 50% capital gains tax deduction for individuals with indexing
for inflation; an adoption tax credit; a tax credit for the cost
of caring for a disabled or mentally-impaired parent, grandparent
or great-grandparent; greater deductions for home offices, and
more. Contact Rep. Tim Hutchinson's office (R-AR) at 202/225-4301.

* Administration Threatens to Withhold Medicaid Funding to Some
States In Dispute Over Wording of Law

Rep. Ernest Istook (R-OK), House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-TX),
and Rep. Bill Baker (R-CA) recapped the fate of the Istook Amendment,
which proponents were (at least temporarily) forced to drop March
14. The Istook Amendment was designed to clarify the meaning of
the 103rd Congress' Hyde Amendment (which bans state use of federal
funds for abortion except in cases of rape, incest or life of
the mother) so the Clinton Administration will not withhold Medicaid
funding from states that do not wish to fund abortion. The issue:
the Clinton Administration says the Hyde Amendment forces states
to fund some abortions; Rep. Istook and others say the Hyde Amendment
permits states to use federal funds to pay for some abortions,
but does not force states to do so. At present, approximately
30 states have laws against funding some abortions, and the Clinton
Administration is threatening to withhold the Medicaid funding
of these states unless they change their laws. Contact Rep. Istook's
office at 202/225-2132, Rep. DeLay's office at 202/225-5951, or
Rep. Baker's office at 202/225-1880.

Senator Paul Coverdell (R-GA) reviewed the size of various federal
government programs vis-a-vis the amount of projected government
revenue, saying "[People] do not know the magnitude of the
problem." Contact Senator Coverdell's office at 202/224-3643.

The House Budget Committee on March 16 approved legislation to
lower the federal budget's discretionary spending caps, thereby
providing $100 billion in spending cuts over five years and, using
traditional CBO scoring, $91 billion in deficit reduction over
five years. The Budget Committee also released a list of 140 federal
program changes to achieve the $100 billion in savings (the House
Appropriations Committee will formally detail the cuts). Among
the cuts the Budget Committee suggests: $11 billion from foreign
aid, $7.6 billion from "corporate welfare," $3.51 billion
from the Department of Defense Civilian Workforce, repealing the
Davis-Bacon Act to save $2.64 billion, cutting $1.495 billion
from various land management agencies in the Departments of Agriculture
and interior, and much more. Contact the Budget Committee at 202/226-7270
for information. Members of the African-American leadership group
Project 21 can be contacted through at (202) 507-6398.

Horace Cooper of the African-American leadership group Project
21 and Legislative Counsel to House Majority Leader Dick Armey
(R-TX) has written a New Visions Commentary published by The National
Center for Public Policy Research on affirmative action and its
proposed reevaluation by the Clinton Administration. Cooper's
comments include: "...just as electoral prospects motivated
the Democrats' original support for quotas and affirmative action,
it seems to be the driving force in their reconsideration... Rather
than stand by an admittedly indefensible position on affirmative
action, President Clinton (demonstrating how he got his reputation
for consistency), looks ready to jettison it like a used pair
of socks... One of the most contentious issues of the last twenty-five
years is being treated by the Democrats as merely a matter for
pollsters to decide... Republicans and conservatives like myself
have consistently advocated a principled view that all Americans
regardless of color, gender or national origin should expect equal
treatment before the law and that these factors shouldn't play
a role in housing and employment... Guaranteed outcomes are incompatible
with opportunity, and a racial spoils system cannot co-exist with
racial harmony... It has become increasingly clear that what is
being done in the name of affirmative action has been more beneficial
for the children of millionaires like Jesse Jackson and Bill Cosby
than it has for the children of Harlem or those from inner city
Detroit." Contact Project 21 at (202) 507-6398.

Scoop is published by The National Center for Public Policy Research
to provide information about the activities of the conservative
movement. Coverage of a meeting or statement in Scoop does not
imply endorsement by The National Center for Public Policy Research.
copyright1995 The National Center for Public Policy Research.